It is well known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,559, to form cigarettes of two or more different types of smoking materials, wherein one type of smoking material predominates in an inner core while another type of smoking material predominates in an outer annulus.
It is well known that a substantial proportion of the tobacco smoke entering a smoker's mouth results from the burning of tobacco in the peripheral regions of the cigarette. It is estimated that about 80% of the volume of smoke entering the smoker's mouth originates from only about 50% of the weight of tobacco in the cigarette.
Production of a composite cigarette comprising an outer annulus of high quality blended cut lamina material and an inner core of lesser quality smoking material, such as, stem or stalk material, reconstituted tobacco, tobacco substitute or lesser quality shredded lamina, therefore, represents a considerable saving in the cost of cigarette production, since the quantity of the most expensive component, namely the cut lamina material, is decreased substantially, with substantially no loss of overall smoking quality. Structuring cigarettes in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,559, therefore, may be considered beneficial.
When a cigarette is first lit up, however, smoke from the burning of tobacco material in the whole cross section of the cigarette is drawn into the smoker's mouth and not predominantly from burning of the annulus material, thereby producing a different taste for the smoker upon lighting up, than in the later smoking of the cigarette, which is considered undesirable.
The applicant is aware of U.K. Patent Nos. 1,443,402, 1,340,100, 250,063 and 8577/1892 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,796,522, 3,059,649, 3,349,776, 3,614,956, 3,759,267 and 3,913,590 relating to various modifications of tobacco smoking qualities along the length of a cigarette and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,570,270, 3,736,941, 3,987,804, 3,957,062, 4,207,906 and 4,516,585 relating to various procedures for the formation of composite cigarettes of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,559.